Giants' Travis Beckum, Bear Pascoe set to fill in for Jake Ballard against Jets

Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerGiants tight end Jake Ballard is slated to miss Saturday's game against the Jets with a knee injury.

Giants beat writers wade into trash talk between Jets and GiantsStar-Ledger Giants beat writers Mike Garafolo and Jorge Castillo try to get through the ever latest volleys of trash talk between the Jets and Giants before Saturday's showdown at MetLife Stadium. Castillo also has his vocabulary tested (followed by a long stare) by Kareem McKenzie when he asks the Giants tackle about possible personnel changes despite the offensive line's recent success. (12/21/2011) Star-Ledger video by Andrew Mills

Travis Beckum has caught only one deep ball all season long. And when he sat out last week’s game with a chest injury, there was D.J. Ware going up the seam with a pass floating his way.

The end result was an interception by the Washington Redskins off a tipped ball, and Beckum was left to rue a potential missed opportunity.

“It (stinks),” said the Giants’ tight end, who had a 67-yard touchdown against the Green Bay Packers. “I mean, I got that ball, what, the 13th game of the season? And he gets out there and the first week he gets it.

“Obviously, I wish I could’ve played. But injuries are part of the game.”

And they continue to be for the Giants at tight end.

While Beckum is on his way back, Jake Ballard is on his way out.

The Giants’ starting tight end, a pleasant surprise this season for a team in desperate need of a pass catcher after the loss of Kevin Boss, will miss his first game because of a knee injury suffered Sunday. Ballard has a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament, though he’s hopeful he’ll be ready to go Jan. 1 against the Dallas Cowboys.

That means Beckum and Bear Pascoe must buck up — and as you’ll see, we do mean buck — for Saturday’s game against the Jets. Both players will battle through injuries to play.

“It’ll take a lot more than that to take me out,” Pascoe said of his sore ribs, which he suffered when he was bent backward after making a catch against Washington. “I’ve been hooked harder than that.”

Hooked? By one of the steer at his family’s California ranch? Really?

“Well, I should say I’ve been bucked off harder than that,” Pascoe said. “Does that help you?

Actually, yes. And Pascoe could help the Giants by offsetting the loss of Ballard this weekend. The team didn’t sign a free agent, so it’ll be Pascoe, who has made most of his 21 career starts at fullback, at the traditional tight end spot.

“He plays hard and gives it everything he has,” Coughlin said. “He’s a tough guy and he does everything you ask him to do.”

Pascoe has turned into a bit of a blocking specialist with the Giants, but he believes he can be a pass catcher at the NFL level after grabbing a total of 85 catches and eight touchdowns in his last two seasons at Fresno State. The 6-5, 283-pounder has 10 catches for 122 yards in limited duty this season.

Pascoe had grabs of 14 and 12 yards after Ballard left Sunday’s game. On the first one, he showed his athletic ability by leaping over cornerback Josh Wilson. On the second one, he suffered his injury when Perry Riley and London Fletcher high-lowed him.

Riley nearly pinned Pascoe’s left leg to the turf, which could’ve been ugly.

“I was going back, going back and then my knee popped out because (the cleat) gave out,” he said. “So that was good.”

As is getting a full week’s worth of reps at tight end.

“It’s just seeing the defense from a different position, down on the line,” he said. “And getting the communication between you and your tackles back, talking to Dave (Diehl) and Kareem (McKenzie), what we have to get done, the blocks we need to work on.”

Beckum will worry less about the blocks and more about his routes. The Giants use him much more in the slot than they do at traditional tight-end spots.

That’s fine with Beckum because he sees an opportunity to do what the Eagles’ Brent Celek did against the Jets on his way to picking up 156 yards and a touchdown.

“The field is so big and you can’t cover everywhere, especially when you blitz as much as they do and move around as much as they do,”

Beckum said. “There are going to be holes in the defense and we’re going to look to capitalize on that. ... They lost their leader on the defense (Jim Leonhard) and when stuff like that happens it’s kind of tough to get back to where you were.